The Second Rule of the Iron Code
by zerofour05
Summary: Wolf wandered this new place aimlessly, with failure marring his eyes, with no will to live, no will to fight, and no lord to fight for. That is, until a certain desperate red haired devil plucked him from the park that fateful night. Now, with an altered Iron Code, he will protect everyone he cares about. SekiroxRiasxAkeno bc I don't play favorites between the two.
1. Chapter 1

**Given that I have not seen any crossovers yet between DxD and Sekiro, I doubt this will reach the light of day. Butt to those who have found this and given this chance, thank you. Also, before I forget again, disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

**Edit: Hello one, hello all, how do y'all do on this fine day? So based on many criticisms, I have decided to fix, or at least make try to make it a little better for y'all. As you will soon see, I have not just changed a few sentences and dialogue, butt I have reworked a whole bunch of scenes. I told y'all I'd be fixing this before I continued. :[  
**

**Anyways, I hope this is to your likings, and it's better than before. I really appreciate all of the support I've garnered, and I really appreciate all of the criticisms I've gotten. With that being said...**

He was floating, like a butterfly wafting through the winds. He didn't flutter his wings to carry him anywhere. No. He had no direction, no purpose, for he was simply...existing. His eyes were marred with failure. Failure, once again. And every time he looked down, he saw his left arm and saw even more failure.

He was once described as a shinobi with no lord, no will to live, no will to fight. It was humorous when he snuck past them, and killed them all in the end. Now, those words never rang truer.

With the last of his Divine Confetti, he wrapped his arm and completely covered it. No point in having an extra reminder of his failed life, when he could remember it every day.

A wise owl once told him that confronting his memories was the way to become stronger.

"_It enhances your mental fortitude. Forces you to confront your most difficult foes once again. Teaches you the error of your ways, so that you may know better by your next fight."_

His words echoed in his mind. He could not, for the life of him, confront that memory.

The sound of chipping wood, followed by scraping reached his ears, as he saw dust fly into his dark, desolate room. The Sculptor was right. This was therapeutic.

He kept at this for hours, the features of the sculpture finally coming together after another night of no sleep. His trained eyes inspected yet another creation of his Buddha. It didn't look...bad, though in his defense, sculpting with one arm was hard. He couldn't use his left hand to hold the block of wood stably. So the result was the same as the last five he'd made.

Another empty and lifeless face on the Buddha, along with accidental chip marks that marred the sculpture's body. Damn. That was his last log too.

He was going to have to remember to throw this one out. Not like the others were perfect anyways.

Light finally began filtering in from the window. The sun was finally rising, and its rays shone through the cracks in the trees and the leaves, leaving a silhouette on his wall.

Slowly, he stood up, still holding his chisel, and he walked across his room, sliding open his closet, and placing it gently in front of a gleaming bronze statue of Buddha.

His mind turned to the rest of his day. School.

He sighed, reaching deeper into his closet for the familiar set of clothes that he'd been wearing for the duration of his stay. He slipped them on with struggle. It was hard to do everything with one hand, and every time he did, he wondered why he put up with it.

He'd been attending school for the past six months, and he honestly saw no point in it. It was the same thing every hour, every day, every week. It seemed like he was on autopilot now. Still, he did it at the behest of that man.

"_You failed, didn't you?" the man with long flowing red hair asked, seemingly appearing out of thin air. He might as well have. It was another night of sleeping in that dark alleyway. And he didn't hear any footsteps prior to his approach. Eyes filled with failure stared at the hand the man offered._

_Withdrawing it, he continued. "But you are strong. I see a wolf who failed his objective, but I can still see...a glimmer of fight. What do you fight for?" _

_He responded with silence. There was nothing left to fight for._

"_I can give you back that fight. I only ask that you do one thing for me."_

_His words sunk in. He was silent still, but his eyes clouded with failure made way for something new. Curiosity. "...How?"_

_The man beamed, his red mane flowed in the night breeze. "Go to school for me. You'll see."_

And he did. For six months, he saw nothing. Though, he did get this shitty shack in the process. Something about needing an address of residency. The man offered him many buildings. A mansion. A manor. An apartment. A house. Something called a brothel. He wondered why the man even offered something like that. He could hear every sound with his trained ears.

In the end, he settled for this...shack. This shack that seemed to call to him, to beg to him to stay, like he belonged here. It was very small, very cramped, very minimalistic. The only thing he asked for was for a statue of Buddha, which the man obliged kindly. He offered even more than the Buddha. Something called a television. Something called a radio. Something called a blender. He refused all of it. It was all too much.

Yes, six months in, and he was still getting used to this era. Lights that turned on with a flick of a switch. Sounds that blasted through a wall. Mechanical contraptions that could transport people faster than the wagons and horses ever could.

This era was so different, he couldn't believe that this was Japan in its twenty-first century. Sometimes, he even wondered if he was in Japan at all.

Yet, despite his situation, despite this incredibly futuristic Japan he now found himself trapped in, this place...Kuoh...held an air of familiarity. Like he'd been here before. It was impossible, of course. Damn Buddha.

Though despite the fact that he, for once, wanted to shake, scream, and curse at someone (that damn god in particular), he knew that he had no choice. Wherever it was that he communed to was not a place for humans.

He remembered teleporting into a vast expanse of darkness. And the moment he opened his eyes, he died. Every time he reopened his eyes, he would die the second after. He hoped that he hadn't just given the world another pandemic.

Eventually, he found a lonely temple, floating amidst the vast darkness, and inside, sat a man. A very familiar man. The exact same man that sat as still as he did back in the Dilapidated Temple. The same man that abandoned Japan

back then.

"_Buddha…" his words escaped his lips involuntarily. _

"_A young cub makes its way to my den." Majestic eyes opened to greet his dull one. "Welcome to a place that no human, nor being should ever be in."_

"_Where am I?"_

"_Space. A space between space and time."_

"_Yet you are here."_

"_I am a god, young cub."_

"_Please, help me get back."_

"_Not even I can do that. If you can even leave here, there is only a slight, sliver of a chance. A percent of a percent that you can return to where you came from. You might go to the future, you might go to the past."_

"_I will take that chance."_

"_And if you don't get what you want?"_

"_Then...please help me accomplish my lord's wish. Take my immortality."_

_The Buddha smiled at his resolve. "I will take your immortality, though should you return to whence you came, I believe it will be of use to you until you can complete whatever it is that you have completed."_

_A hand extended forward, palm upward, and in it, a crystallized tomoe appeared. A beautiful pink aura emanated from it. His eyes widened in recognition._

"_You recognize this. This is where your immortality will lay. Dormant. Until you need it again."_

"_Are you ready?"_

_He nodded. "I am."_

"_What happens from this moment on will be up to chance. Perhaps you will go back in time, back to when you were but a fetus in your mother's womb. Or perhaps you will move forward in time, to an unrecognizable world, yet one all the same. Or perhaps you will travel to a completely different dimension altogether. Are you prepared for that risk?"_

He was. He was, until he came here.

His hand subconsciously caressed his cheek, still wanting to believe that none of this was real. And like every other time he caressed his cheek, no longer could he feel the rough stubble. No longer could he feel the definition in his cheek or jaw. No longer could he feel the natural wrinkle of a constantly furrowed brow. All he felt was the soft, youthful skin of seventeen.

Into the future of Japan, and thrown backwards in age. His unseen aid failed him.

* * *

Times were stressful. Rias was slowly withering against her unfair battle with life. She didn't know how much more she could take, and she was getting desperate. She still had eight pawns, a bishop, a rook, and a knight left. At this point, she might as well just take any eleven students and ask them to join her peerage, regardless of them wielding a Sacred Gear or having a special ability or not.

But no. That was plan C. Plan A was still in progress.

Currently, her sights were on a boy. A boy well known amongst the student body as the scum of all scum. The piece of dirt on a freshly bought pair of shoes. The boy who…

"I want a harem!"

Right. The one who wanted to acquire what none could ever seem to acquire in the human world. A harem.

She giggled from the window, as she watched the boy who shouted to the sky his dream. She found it endearing and wanting. She wished for a life where she could follow her dreams. Where she could do what she wanted to do. Where she could follow her best interest, and not the clan's.

The bell rang throughout the school, and soon the mostly empty hall she decided to stop by became filled with a cacophony of footsteps, mindless chatter, and unceremonious praise and compliments from the students that walked by her, but she paid no heed. She didn't feel like leaving just yet, though she noted that her source of entertainment had disappeared in the sea of heads that flooded into one of the buildings.

Eventually, as students filed into their classes, she realized that the hall was not yet entirely empty. Amongst a few who still loitered around the halls, most likely ogling her, as far as she knew, there, a distance away stood a boy, who too was facing a window, albeit with his eyes closed.

She really should get to class. With Sona and her peerage gone, the leadership of the student body fell on her shoulders. Just another burden piled on top of another one, but she did it to help her friend.

So, she walked towards the lonely boy, wanting to make sure he went to class.

As she got closer, she studied the boy with calculation. His uniform was incredibly messy, like he just threw it on without a care in the world. His hair was tied into a short high tail with a noticeable white streak that ran along the hair by his temple. This was that new student, she realized. This was the first time she'd ever seen him.

Rias had heard about him, who everybody claimed appeared out of thin air. He'd been attending for the past six months, apparently, yet nobody knew him. Nobody talked to him, nobody hung out with him. He was a loner and he kept to himself. Despite that, rumors still sprouted about him anyways.

Things like being an ex-Yakuza, because of his noticeably long scar running down his left eyebrow. Or things like being a survivor of a four way car crash with three trucks, because of his clean lilac colored gauze that covered almost all of his left arm. Or things like being a chuunibyou, because of that streak of white hair and the combination of the other two visually noticeable things about him.

He was an enigma. And this piqued Rias's interest.

Finally reaching him, she stopped a short distance away, and she spoke. "Class is in session, you should be heading to class now."

"Sure," he replied dismissively, before sighing. His eyes remained closed at the sudden intrusion of his peace.

"Rias-oneesama! Please, you shouldn't bother yourself with a delinquent like him!" she heard one of the students who still loitered the hall say. She diverted her attention to the student. One of the few males of the school.

Inwardly, she grimaced at the judgment the student made on the lonely boy. Why do people judge others based on their surface? Though then again, the same applied to her. It was their surface judgment of her beauty and outward personality that earned her and her Queen the title of the Two Great Oneesamas of Kuoh, despite not having done anything significant to earn such a title.

"No, it's quite okay," She replied, offering him a kind smile, "Someone needs to make sure everyone follows the rules, especially with Sona-kaichou absent."

"Y-you're right!" He relented, bowing repeatedly. "So sorry for bothering you! I'll be going to class now!"

Footsteps echoed away rapidly as she turned back to the boy who rested by the window. Still, the boy paid her presence no heed, and the two remained in their spot in silence.

She frowned, as she opened her mouth, about to repeat her earlier sentiment, but before she could, he spoke.

"What are you still doing here then?" he asked, opening his eyes as he lazily turned his head to meet Rias.

Her blue cerulean eyes stared into his brown ones that seemed deprived of sleep many times over. They say that the eyes were the window to the soul. She was told once before that hers showed that she was confident, optimistic, and ambitious. That if she worked hard enough, she would be able to get what she wanted. Those words from her brother, so long ago, was the driving force in her constant resistance against this marriage.

But his...his were deep, painful, and empty. Like he lost everything. Like he had no purpose. Nothing to live for.

She heard his question a moment ago, but the question seemed lost in the wind, as her voice refused to come out.

After making eye contact for what seemed like ages, the boy opted to turn back to face the window, studying the environment outside.

"What's your name?" she found herself asking.

His gaze flickered back to her, and he remained silent for a while. She was beginning to expect that he wasn't going to answer.

"You didn't answer my first question," he responded flatly.

She frowned, everything within her seeming to finally turn back to normal, and she replied, "I was supposed to be making sure you were going to go to class. So...your name?"

He sighed, and he remained silent once again, though he seemed to be lost in contemplation.

With the amount of pauses occurring between sentences, Rias felt like this was one of the most prolonged conversations she has ever had.

Hesitantly, he replied, "...Wolf."

Upon hearing his response, the crimson haired princess looked at him skeptically. Was he playing her?

"Wolf? What kind of a name is that?"

"Just a name. Like whatever yours is supposed to be."

She looked at him in shock, her brows raising incredulously. He didn't know who she was? She wasn't one to brag, but she was one of the most well known students in this academy. Nearly everyone talked about her, whether she was within earshot or not.

She shook herself of her shock. "S-sorry. My name is Rias. Rias Gremory."

"Rias Gremory...huh," her name escaped his lips like a whisper, and he gazed back at her.

Rias felt like she was being picked apart and studied, as his gaze lingered. While she was aware that many people did do that to her, his gaze felt...different. Like she was suddenly put under a microscope and was being studied by

multiple scientists all at once.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, she saw him break his gaze, turning around and walking away.

As she watched his retreating form, she could have sworn she heard him mutter something as he walked away,

but it was so low, even her ears failed to coherently pick it up. But it sounded something like…

"_...like his."_

Finally disappearing from her view, she reflected on the past few moments.

His name was Wolf. She wondered what kind of parents would give the boy such an uncaring name, as if he didn't deserve the comfortability and luxury of being able to have a name that was unique to him and him only. Though in fairness, many names weren't unique to one person.

She remembered that before her knight became Kiba Yuuto, he was Isaiah. And she knew there were a lot of Isaiahs around the world. But still, it was the family love that came with being given an actual name. Wolf...it sounded devoid of that.

And then his eyes. Full of emptiness and pain, like he had no direction in his life. Or maybe he lost that direction. She knew he had gone through something. Something that dramatically changed his way of life.

While she was fortunate to not have something traumatizing happen to her on that scale, she couldn't say the same for her best friend, her rook, or her knight. They had gone through their fair shares of horror, and their stories were like horror stories to her. Her best friend's mother being killed by her own family, before turning on her? Her rook's sister going mad with power before killing her master, ultimately ending with the neigh extinctinction of her race? Her knight being the sole survivor of a horrifying project? They were all terrifying, but they all recovered, but it affected who they were today.

So she wondered. What was his story?

She was beginning to think that he really did appear out of thin air six months ago.

* * *

He was sure of it. Her crimson red hair matched that of the man that visited him in the alleyway that night. That night, almost seven months ago.

Was she what he meant? It only made sense, right?

He shook his head. There was no way to tell. If anything, it could just be a coincidence that she had the same colored hair as him. After all, he noticed that many people had many shades of colors for hair in this era. Maybe it was just a...what did Emma say about people wearing kimonos that had multiple slits at their hems…? It was a...a...a fashion trend.

Yes, he remembered visiting the Sculptor once, and there she was, wearing one of those kimonos instead of her usual attire. It was disgusting.

"_I was told it was a fashion trend that many girls were trying lately, so…"_

He furrowed his brow, dispelling that memory, as he returned to his objective at hand. He didn't want to look back at those times. He wasn't ready yet.

He found himself staring out of the classroom window, deciding to ignore the supposedly important piece of paper on his desk. He saw no point in doing the...pop-chapter test, his teacher called it.

His cheek rested on his right hand, as his left hung limp to the side.

His gaze turned to his left arm, and he attempted, much like how he had attempted each day for the past six months, to twitch a finger. He saw a very slight, if not unnoticeable movement within the confines of the Confetti.

'_Progress,' _he thought, as he attempted to elicit more movement from the prosthetic. Then, ever so slowly, he tried to lift his prosthetic with his elbow. Instead, however, came a sharp jolt of pain, that rocked his arm, and he immediately relaxed it, returning to gazing out the window to not draw attention to himself.

He didn't know why he couldn't move it. Or rather, he could, but doing so caused him excruciating pain. Phantom pains from his actual arm being severed, he assumed. Maybe it had always been there, and he just didn't notice it back then. But that was during a time when he swung through the trees and the rooftops. During a time when life and death was but a hairwidth away.

Now, with calmness surrounding him here, in a few time periods past one of constant danger, he was finally able to remove some of his attention from the wariness of his surroundings. There weren't any Senpou rats ready to take the jump at you in a moment's notice, nor were there gigantic genetically modified chickens that could sneak up on you as if they were master shinobis themselves. Such was the life of a civilian, he supposed. Though he wondered if the civilian life here was the same as civilian life back in Ashina.

Still, his predisposition as a shinobi kept him alert towards the menial things, no matter how peaceful it was. For example, the eyes boring into him at the back of his head was something he had been noticing for nearly thirty minutes now.

His cheek left his palm, as he turned his head to survey the room. At every desk, students were preoccupied with the papers on their desk. The sound of pencils scratching on paper and erasers aggressively rubbing against the surface filled the air. All were performing some derivation of the actions described above. All except for one student sitting a few rows behind him, and he locked on and gazed at the one who had been triggering his senses. A girl with raven black hair, tied into a long ponytail and held together by an orange ribbon. That was all the information he could obtain for now.

With hawk-like vision, he could see that she mimicked the actions of the other students, but she was already done. Her quiz, from the angle he was staring at, was already completed. At least, he assumed so, based on the scribbles of writing that were present under every question.

He imperceptibly shook his head before returning to his previous position, yet once he did, the feeling of eyes boring into him returned.

"Okay, the time for the exam is over," the teacher said suddenly, and groans replaced the previous sounds that occupied the air. The teacher walked by, collecting tests from each desk.

"When I have your papers, you may leave!"

When the teacher walked by to collect his test, he looked at it before sighing in disappointment, shaking his head. As he should have been.

He hadn't written anything on his paper. Not even his name.

"Are you not going to do any work in this class?" the teacher asked with a stern look. Funny, not even the teachers bothered learning his name.

He simply shook his head, not bothering to meet the teacher's eyes. That was weird. The teacher actually talked to him today.

The bell rang right after, and the teacher turned away, announcing that he would return the graded pop-chapter exams in a couple of days.

Sounds of bustling quickly filled the room as students eagerly left the class. Those sounds were quickly drowned out by the sound of footsteps that were honing in on his position. He had yet to get up. But before he could...

"Ara ara," a voice came from behind, "you didn't even bother to do the exam."

Then, as if someone turned down the volume, the noises began to cease, as the shinobi felt more than one pair of eyes on him. Hushed whispers began to fill the room.

"No," he merely said, turning to look at the owner of the voice. It was as he suspected. The girl from before, with a long ponytail that nearly reached her knees.

Finally getting a clearer look at her, he thought that she, objectively, was beautiful. Like those Yamato Nadeshiko he'd heard of in old Japan. He never believed it, but here was one now, standing in front of him.

His eyes narrowed imperceptibly. She was too beautiful. With a generous figure that seemingly accentuated her curves, and unnatural violet eyes that held a calculating gaze. It made him suspicious.

His shinobi senses tingled and drew him to the conclusion that Rias and this girl were connected somehow. After all, why would she talk to him after Rias had, when he'd been in her class this whole time?

Though had he paid more attention to the gossip around these parts, he would have known he was talking to the second half of the Two Great Onee-sama's of Kuoh.

Finally, he stood up, as his chair scraped along the floor. Without sparing a second look back at the ravenette, he headed towards the exit.

"Wait," she called out, as she caught up to him, "allow me to walk with you."

For the millionth time today, he sighed, though he made no attempt to shake her off. There wasn't any point to. He didn't have the energy for it anyways.

As they walked down the halls, murmurs erupted amongst the students who watched them. Normally, he paid no mind to them. They had, after all, been doing this since day one. Though this time, he listened in.

"...Akeno-oneesama...walking with the delinquent?"

"Impossible! He must've drugged her or something!"

"What does that piece of garbage want with our Akeno-chan?!"

Oh, how information can come without asking.

He walked silently, facing forward and not bothering to check back on the girl who walked alongside him, fidgeting as if she couldn't stand the silence.

"Are you…" Akeno started, staring at the boy who made no effort in talking to her, "not going to say anything?"

He shook his head once. "You chose to walk with me."

"Ara ara, your social skills are incredibly immaculate...er..." she paused, and he sighed. She was going to ask for his name, wasn't she?

"Wolf."

She tilted her head curiously. "Wolf...san?"

He nodded in response.

"Is that...really your name?"

"Yes. Is that so hard to believe?"

"It's like...someone being named 'Chocolate' or…'Black'," she muttered, and guilt surged in his chest.

Black. A translation of his name. Just another example of his failures.

"Why?"

She looked at him curiously, "Why what?"

"Why are you talking to me? You were staring at me earlier too."

"Ara ara, what baseless assumptions, Wolf-san. If I didn't know any better, it seems like you're trying to start a scandal~. You didn't even ask for my name, ufufu," she teased, suddenly latching onto his arm. He stiffened at the contact, not used to the closeness of the girl pervading his space.

"Your name is Akeno," he stated, shaking his head.

"Oh, and where did you hear that from? Are you a stalker, perchance?" she asked cheekily, tugging on his arm, and he sighed again. The incessant murmuring became louder.

"No. Everyone else told me your name already," he said, nudging his head towards the many students that were gawking at the two.

The two continued to walk in silence. He felt her gaze multiple times throughout the trip, and eventually, the two neared an old building. One that seemed a bit run down, yet taken care of at the same time. With nature creeping against its walls, and tiles that looked like they were ready to slip at a moment's notice, it reminded him of the Dilapidated Temple that housed a certain orangutan.

"This is my stop, Wolf-kun," she said, as he eyed her with a raised eyebrow at the peculiar change in honorifics. Though he said nothing, opting instead for a grunt.

"Thanks for walking me~!" she removed herself from his arm and walked towards the building, disappearing from his field of view as she shut the wooden door behind her.

After she left, he walked away, not before feeling two sets of eyes on his back. Imperceptibly, he glanced back and saw a pair of blue and violet eyes watching him from the second story window of the relatively dilapidated building.

"I knew it."

* * *

The two great ladies watched the boy walk away with a piqued interest.

"Would you like for me to make tea?" Akeno offered.

Rias smiled and nodded. Leave it to her to help her relax.

Reciprocating a nod, her Queen disappeared from view, and shortly after, she heard the clinking of glass being set upon glass, and water running. Akeno made some damn good tea.

In the meantime, Rias decided to relax on one of the couches, leaning back into the soft cushions, as she let out a content sigh, and she began to think.

Wolf certainly opened up the possibilities to new ideas. He was an enigma. A wildcard. A gamble. Maybe he was special, maybe he wasn't. Rias didn't know. But the mystery surrounding the bot was enthralling. Maybe she could move Plan D to Plan E. Maybe shift a few plans around.

She shook her head. No, that wouldn't do. She was jumping the gun on Wolf being something special.

She shook her head again, disapproving of that thought. Everyone was special in their own way.

She heard the sound of steam whistling from the kettle, and Rias hummed. ETA for tea was five minutes.

"This boy…" she heard Akeno start, her voice echoing slightly from the kitchen. She paused, and Rias knew that the little scouting mission she sent her Queen on didn't seem as fruitful as she thought it would be. "He's...nice."

Rias raised her head from its relaxed position and turned to look at her with a raised eyebrow. "...nice? That's it?"

She didn't see it, but she knew that Akeno pouted. "Mouu, that's all that I can say. He's not...the most social person."

That she could agree on. Her first encounter with the loner wasn't...the most social. She was sure there was more silence than there was words.

"Mmm. He's pretty perceptive though," Akeno said, and Rias flipped over, leaning over the couch, as she stared at her Queen, waiting for her to continue. "He knew that I was staring at him in class today. I almost got caught too. I think he might even be under the suspicion that we're in cahoots with each other." she continued cheekily, pouring the hot tea into two small teacups.

That was surprising. She knew that Akeno was very discreet and just as efficient at gathering information as her resident spy, so for her to be admitting that she got caught truly spoke volumes about his perceptiveness.

"So his name really is Wolf, huh…?" Rias asked. She still found it hard to believe that there was somebody actually named Wolf. That was like...someone being named Mercedes or Northwest. "Humans are so weird sometimes."

"Though getting a closer look at him, I can see why people would come up with such rumors about him. That scar, his hair, his arm…" Akeno said, her voice becoming louder as she approached her King with two cups of tea.

"His eyes…" Rias commented, relieving a steaming cup from the ravenette's hand, as she nodded gratefully. "His eyes looked so heavy. Like he's holding himself accountable for something."

"Maybe he blames himself for someone's death?" Akeno pitched in, taking a seat on the couch across from her.

"Possibly," Rias replied, blowing on her tea before hesitantly taking a sip. She scrunched her nose, as she felt the small amount of liquid enter her mouth. It was still hot.

Outside the window, she heard a soft rustle come from the bushes below. Setting her tea down on the coffee table in front of her, she walked over to the window and peered out to see what could have caused it.

She heard Akeno set her tea down as well, and she felt her Queen's presence behind her.

"And that other boy, the one who potentially has a Sacred Gear? Are they still...dating?" she asked.

Down below, Rias stared down at three heads huddling together, panting as if they had just run for their lives. She honed in on one head with brunette hair. She could only assume what it was they were previously doing.

'_Again? You would think that just because he got a girlfriend, he'd stop with his habits…' _she thought, releasing a sweatdrop. She was sure that her best friend was thinking the same thing too.

"According to Koneko, yes," Rias replied, unmoving from her position, "she did ask him on a date. In two days time. I'll have to make sure he gets a flyer the day of."

"Ara ara, Buchou, an elaborate schemer as always," Akeno giggled.

Rias only sighed in response. She was becoming desperate. She didn't want to gain a peerage member this way, but this was the only option at this point.

Cutting off her thoughts, she moved away from the window, and her eyes flickered between the hot cup of tea and the shower. Maybe she should let the hot liquid cool off a bit more, lest she burned her tongue again.

Deciding on her course of action, she turned to Akeno who was looking at her curiously. "Shower first, then I'll finish the tea."

After all, drinking tea fresh out the shower seemed more relaxing.

"Of course, Buchou," Akeno replied, smiling.

With that, she walked towards the shower, Akeno closely following behind, and she undressed, giving her clothes to her friend before stepping into the shower. Why there was a shower in the building, out in the open like this, she didn't know. Whoever designed this building must've had something planned.

The hot water running down her back soothed her, as she relaxed into the slight pressure that the showerhead produced. Hot showers were the best at providing a lapse of peace in her currently chaotic situation. The date kept being pushed back, and the closer it got, the more her mind was reducing itself into a stressful mess.

She thought about the perverted brunette who she believed would be the key to her way out. She thought about the forced marriage, and what would happen to her and her peerage if she couldn't. Then, unsurprisingly, she thought about Wolf, who, she thought, lived a peaceful and lonely life. How she longed for one. Minus the loneliness, that was. She thought, for a split second, about inviting him to join her peerage.

Though it was cruel. Here she was, willing to play someone's death to get them to join her peerage, while asking cordially to another to join. Maybe that would be Plan B.

* * *

It was a peaceful night, where stars twinkled in the clear night sky like a gleam from diamonds refracting light. Because diamonds don't shine. They refract. It reminded him of the countless nights under the clear Ashina sky, where he would stay perched amongst the rooftops, the tree tops, or the cliffs and bluffs of the valleys. He reminded himself that this was still Japan. The same Japan; just not his.

He walked slowly through the streets, a bag of logs swinging in his hand, as lights flickered from the streetlights above, illuminating his path. Cars zipped by and the sounds of them passing formed a peaceful rhythm. That was, until a screech and a sudden honk tore through the peacefulness. He looked at the close call, and shook his head. The driver seemed to be shouting with a flurry of curse words.

And then, he felt it. That shift in the air from peaceful to murderous. It was almost suffocating. Almost. He'd fought opponents before that exuded much more and much stronger of this foulness that reeked in the air.

Shouts of panic rang in the nearby park, and he saw...light. Light, seemingly out of nowhere illuminated the night sky, and it shot from the air and into the ground, like a shooting star, and that was when he noticed.

With his night eyes, he could make out a figure hovering above in the sky, wings outstretched, as light was conjured again before being thrown at the target on the ground. A boy with brunette hair. One that he'd seen in passing a few times at school.

So he ran, dropping the logs in a loud clatter, as it spilled onto the sidewalk. He ran towards battle like a naive Ashina soldier who was a week old in the ranks.

He didn't know what caused him to do it. Ever since that day, everything had felt thrown off. His mind flashed back to the red haired man who shared the same hair color as Rias. Was this what he was talking about?

As he got closer, he made out finer details of the assailant above. A woman in skimpy black clothing. Very little armor. Feather-like wings. Capable of aerial assault, though very prone to an anti-air deathblow. This would've been over in a second or less, had he had his sword. Though, he supposed that he could toss a shuriken at her to knock her down. The thing that caught his attention was her ability to conjure light. That must have been what she was throwing. They looked like spears. So she was dangerous in the sky and on the ground.

His right arm torsioned onto his left waist, where he kept a small pouch and he unclipped the button keeping it closed. He reached in, the pouch almost enveloping his whole hand. He could reach deeper in, given that it was enchanted with Buddha's infinite storage, but he managed to find what he was looking for without having to go too far in. He supposed he should keep his pouch on his right from now on for easier access.

Out came a small object. A disk in the form of a four pronged star. Exactly what he needed. And with finesse, he swung his hand outwards, in the direction of the woman in the sky and the star went flying with incredible speed.

It cut through the air as it spun rapidly, approaching its target with speed rivaling that of the light being thrown at the woman. The woman, though distracted with her objective on the ground, was able to catch a glimpse of the sharp projectile incoming, and she blocked with her held light, barely in time before the spinning projectile could cut through her face.

Her face contorted from that of a predator toying with her prey to pure rage, as she looked at the newcomer, who was closing the distance rapidly.

"Why, you!" She shouted, as she threw her spear in his direction, hoping to halt his advancement.

He rolled to the side with ease as the spear struck the ground. Any second later, and he would have been impaled by her equally fast, if not faster, moving object.

Though, he did not retaliate, instead rushing over to the boy downed on the ground, who was scuffed with dirt and blood from diving into the ground too many times.

"Are you alright?" he asked, as he stood facing the black winged angel in the sky.

"I-I'm fine," the boy replied, panting, "just tired."

"Rest." he simply said, and he kept his eyes trained on the danger in front of him.

She hovered, closer to the ground, and spoke, "So, the pathetic piece of trash finds help from another pathetic piece of trash. Though I'll admit, you caught me by surprise. Unfortunately, you lost that element long ago."

"I don't need surprise anymore," he replied, his hand returning to the inside of his infinite storage. Grasping another shuriken, he threw it, once again with blinding speed, and immediately after, he jumped forward, disappearing from his spot as he trailed after the soaring projectile.

Once again, she blocked barely in the nick of time, though she wasn't able to block a follow-up kick from

the Wolf himself.

He kicked twice in rapid succession, the first hitting her stomach, and the second, her face. She spun in the air, and finished his combo by flipping off of her and landing back on the ground.

It had been a while since he'd done that. The Senpou

Leaping Kicks. It left him more winded than usual.

He panted, as he looked up. The woman was still up and about.

"You dare let your filthy human body touch me?!" Rage clouded her eyes as she lunged with her spear with incredible speed. Though he knew that type of attack anywhere.

He let a small smirk escape onto his face. Big mistake.

As she got closer to him, she reeled her spear back, ready to thrust, and when she got within striking distance, she lunged the spear forward.

With finesse, he stomped on the spearhead, and the point struck the ground with a resounding boom.

Mikiri Counter. He still got it. He couldn't help but let his smirk grow wider as the woman's eyes widened in shock.

"H-how?"

"Doesn't matter," he said, as he stepped off the spear and went for a quick jab. The crunch as his fist met her cheek sounded pleasing to the ear as she stumbled backwards onto the ground.

He remained, unmoving, and on guard as he stared at her downed form. She didn't get up.

After waiting for a few more seconds, he dashed back to the boy, who watched the whole thing in shock.

"Y-you…" the boy stammered, trying to comprehend what just happened. "You're that student, right?"

"Yes. Are you okay?" he asked, as he held his usable hand out. The brunette gratefully took it and hoisted himself up.

"Y-yeah...thanks."

"Who...or what was that?"

His answer came in the form of excruciating pain, as a spear erupted through his chest. Blood splashed onto the boy's horrified face, as he fell back in shock. The shinobi grasped the handle of the spear that poked through, horribly attempting to gasp for air.

"I...am Raynare," she introduced, pushing the spear further through his body, "and I am a fallen angel."

With that, he fell to his knees. He didn't know if a spear being shoved through his body hurt more than a blade cutting his arm off. Blood leaked, like a waterfall, as he fell onto his knees before dropping onto the ground. He could only helplessly watch as Raynare approached the afraid teen.

"Back to business," she said, looming over her original target.

He wanted to yell for him to run. To escape. But the only thing that escaped his mouth was a gargled groan.

Raynare summoned another spear of light, and she held it far above her head, aiming the tip at the brunette's chest.

"Any last words?" she asked mercifully, though the evil glint did not leave her eyes.

"W-why…?" was all he could ask, and she shoved the spear into his body. He let out a pained shout, as it penetrated through his body. As though adding insult to injury, she stepped on his stomach, and more blood gushed out from the hole in his body.

"Blame the God that put that _thing _inside you. Goodbye now, Issei." she responded, snarling at his name, finally taking her foot off his body. She watched in satisfaction as the boy, named Issei, crumpled, his body shaking from the pain.

With that, she flapped her wings and disappeared into the black sky, leaving a trail of black feathers in her wake.

Eventually, Issei stopped shaking.

"Sh-should've...run," the shinobi managed to say. The two laid in silence, with Issei staring at the blackness of the night sky, and Wolf staring at the dying form of Issei.

"H-how can you...talk…? This hurts...so much…" Issei struggled to let out.

The pain slowly left, as his body began to become enveloped in a numb feeling. A feeling he was very used to for being subjected to it many times before. With a weakening voice, he replied. "Numbness...it's...setting in."

"Hehe…" Issei coughed, and a spike of pain forced him to groan, "I didn't expect...to die with a dude."

"Hm."

"I...never got your name…"

This again. He stayed silent, thinking about it, and a small smile, one that he rarely let out, engulfed his features. Maybe he could use that name.

"...Sekiro."

"Seki...ro...huh. I finally know your name…" Issei let out a weak chuckle, before speaking again. "I'm…"

Sekiro shook his head. "Save your breath...

I know your name. Issei."

Information really did come to him without asking for it.

Issei nodded gratefully, giving the shinobi a bloody smile before speaking. "We go...to the same school, don't we?"

He nodded.

"Yeah...I've seen you around. You're my...senpai aren't you…?"

Sekiro's eyes widened slightly. The first time he'd been recognized, and he didn't hear anything about those damn rumors that somehow spread throughout the school. Though, the boy was dying, and maybe that just wasn't on his mind at the time.

Regardless, the rare smile from before greeted his face again. "Yes, I suppose so."

"You know...Sekiro-senpai...if I was going to die...I'd at least...want to die...in a beautiful girl's arms…"

He watched the boy convulse a bit, before finally stilling, signifying his passing in life.

Sekiro stared at the unmoving boy's form. He was dying. Actually dying this time. There was no resurrection to bring him back this time. His thoughts traveled to the crystalized droplet in his pouch. Should he use it?

No. His time was up. His time was finally up, and he would gratefully accept death with open arms.

'_Was this it? Was this that fight that you mentioned…?' _his thoughts, once again, traveled back to that man. That man with the crimson red hair. The crimson red that reminded him of the blood pouring out from their bodies. The crimson red that reminded him of the other girl with crimson red hair.

A final thought crossed his mind.

'_Maybe I should go too, it's better this way. But...first…maybe...I can help him.'_

Yes. This must be that purpose that man was talking about. He tried grasping at his pouch that was trapped on the other side of his body. He should have put his pouch on the right side of his waist.

He attempted to push himself up, his weight becoming hard to handle with the loss of blood, and he fell over to his side, more blood oozing out from his gigantic wound.

"Damn…" he weakly muttered. The idea of sleep was becoming more enticing as time passed. But he still had fight.

Pain flared and added to his state of torment as he forced his mechanical arm to move, grasping a patch of grass, but he paid no mind. He dragged himself, switching with his other arm, as he dragged himself again. Closer and closer he got, smearing blood onto the ground, as he moved. He pulled against the tides of sleep, which became heavier and harder at his movement. He was so close now.

Suddenly, blinding red light exploded in front of him, and he shut his eyes in reflex. For a second he thought they weren't going to open again, but alas, it did, and he looked up.

Blue eyes filled with optimism and concern stared down at him.

Rias.

"Your eyes…," he heard her speak, a softness present in her voice, "I didn't know what it was, when I looked at them before, but now I see. Your eyes are filled with failure…"

With as much mental energy he had, he scoffed inwardly. He heard those words before. He didn't think he would hear them again.

"...and determination."

That last part, he hadn't heard those words in a long _long _time. He audibly chuckled at that, eliciting a gasp from the girl in his presence.

"I haven't heard...those words...in a long….time," his voice trailed off. Damn. He could feel it now. Sleep had a firm grasp on his neck, ready to perform a deathblow. He should have put more energy out into giving Issei that droplet. Even if...even if he might gift that accursed immortality to someone. Maybe...

He heard a clap, and the last words he heard was, "Right! There's only one thing left to do."

* * *

Light struck his eyes mercilessly, begging for them to open. Sekiro grunted, forcing them to keep shut. Not yet. He hadn't had such peaceful sleep in a while. The comfort of a bed was a luxury to him.

Even in his own pathetic excuse of a shoddy little shack he managed to acquire for living arrangements, he slept on a mat. There was no need for a bed, so long as whatever he slept on allowed him to rest. He could've even ditched the mat, and slept on the floor if he so pleased.

That thought caused him to open his eyes suddenly. He didn't own a bed.

His eyes were greeted with a small, tidy room. It was relatively bare, save for the single bed that hugged the wall and a small dresser that contained a pair of folded uniforms. Sunlight filtered in from the window's blinds. He glared at the window with murderous intent, hoping it would shut itself and remove the light that filtered in, so that he would get some rest.

He lifted his body, and hunched over, allowing the blanket that covered him to fall to his lap. Whoever brought him here removed his clothes. He gazed at his left arm, glad that the lilac colored bandages were untouched. Then, his gaze traveled to his body. His brow furrowed as he looked at his torso. There was something wrong.

The hole that signified his death was gone. All that was there was repaired muscle.

"What happened?" he asked himself. The sheets shuffled, though not by his doing. His eyes widened, as he felt a shift beside him and a light groan.

Red hair was splayed over the right side of the bed.

'_That's…' _he thought. His eyes followed the red hair to its roots, and finished his thought for him.

Rias slept along his side, undisturbed by Sekiro's movement. His eyes traveled from her sleeping face, downward.

If anyone saw his face, they would have laughed. Every single Ashina soldier, Senpou monk, Isshin Ashina, and even his damned father, would have laughed. Hard.

For on Sekiro's face, after realizing how close he was to a naked body (and a beautiful one, at that, though he had nothing to base his assumptions off of), for the first time might he add, was a huge red blush.

In his defense, he'd never undergone...what did they call it? Anti-seduction training?

With as much vigor as possible, he willed for the blood to wash away from his face, and he turned his head away from the sleeping beauty beside him. He brought back his thoughts to the real matter at hand.

"Where am I…?" he asked aloud to himself.

His response was a soft yawn, and more shuffling. Feet kicked up in the air, as he heard a stretch. He turned his head to the soft commotion occuring beside him.

Rias slowly, supporting herself onto her arms. Her breasts jiggled in the sunlight, as she rubbed her sleepy eyes.

"Good morning, Wolf-san," she greeted groggily. She gazed at him cutely, and he quickly swiveled his head away in embarrassment, remembering her current state of dress. He missed the smile she shot at him.

"Good...morning," he replied. Never had he thought that he would be uttering those words.

"How was your sleep?"

"Good. It was good," he replied simply.

There was a long pause.

"Why...why am I alive?" he found himself asking.

She tilted her head in curiosity and, possibly, slight concern, "Were you expecting to die?"

"I was," he replied matter of factly. He shook his head soon after. "It doesn't matter though."

Theories ran through his mind about his current predicament. He was alive. Did that mean he used the droplet? No, he was sure he didn't. He was adamant about not using it on himself, so why…? Maybe she used it? Did she even know about it? He highly doubted so; she would've brought it up by now.

In his mental run through, he was ignorant of the curious gaze she held on him.

"Wolf-san?" she asked, snapping him out of his inner turmoil, and he turned to look at her. "Where did you get that scar?"

Sekiro remained silent at her question. He closed his eyes, and released a sigh. "It's...been a while."

"Do you remember?"

She was going to be persistent, wasn't she?

"My...father gave it to me."

She gasped. "Wh-why…?"

"He's not my real father. I don't know my parents. I was an orphan."

"Oh!" She yelled, and before he could react, he felt her arms wrap around his shoulder, and he felt her chest squish against his arm. "You poor thing…," she said, her voice muffled against the nook of his neck.

Danger instincts kicked in at the girl's lunge, but quelled them at the last second. She was this close to getting jabbed in the throat.

Instead, he was...shocked. He had never truly received any sense of heartfelt warmth before. Certainly not from his father, nor from that demonic old hag of a teacher. So being thrust into a closeness like this without warning was...surprisingly not unpleasant.

Still, he didn't know how to react. So, as she continued to hug him, he did nothing but...sit. Hesitantly, however, he raised his usable arm and wrapped it around her in his own awkward little hug.

'_The big bad wolf giving hugs. I could see them laughing now,' _he thought. Giving a hug was also something he never thought he'd be doing as well. There's a first time for everything, he supposed.

Eventually, she raised her head to look up to him, signs of tears forming in the corner of her beautiful blue eyes.

"I'll make everything better, I promise," she said sincerely. "Whatever it was that hurt you, I'll be there to help you get past it."

His brow furrowed, searching deep into her eyes. Could she really?

_A grappling hook hooked around one of the many ledges at the top of a castle. Landing with a thump, he saw...them…_

_A gigantic owl and a zombified samurai, standing over his bleeding young lord. A blade, emitting the blackest and foulest of auras held in the samurai's hand._

"_You're late," came the rough and deep voice of the owl._

Could she really?

He searched harder into those blue orbs of hers. They spoke of optimism and ambition, but of naivety and innocence. Could she really?

He broke eye contact with her, and turned his head, escaping the alluring gaze of warmth. A frown overtook her features.

"There is a reason why I am alive, isn't there?" he spoke suddenly.

"There is." he heard her say confidently, and he turned back to look at her, his gaze strong and unwavering.

Hearing those words, he realized that this was it. This was what those six months led up to. This was what that day was. This was what that fight with that...winged person led up to. This was what dying led up to.

"I see," he closed his eyes, relenting her from his gaze. "Then...thank you."

She smiled, and shook her head rapidly, blinking away the tears that were about to spill.

"Okay!" she all but shouted, trying to clear the mood. "I need to inform you of some things first. You," she pointed at him, "are now a devil."

His brow furrowed in thought upon hearing that.

"A...devil," he reiterated. "Fair enough."

He nodded, and she looked at him with confusion.

What? This was the man who fought a gorilla that came back to life after beheading it with the sword already in its chest. If that thing could run around with its head in its hands with a gigantic centipede taking control of it, then being reincarnated as a devil meant nothing.

But it was interesting to note that the supernatural existed this far into the future of the world. This made him wonder. If devils, and possibly angels exist now, did they exist back then too?

"That's...it?" she asked incredulously, and he nodded again.

"No questions or anything?" He shook his head.

"At all," she pushed. Why was she so persistent?

"You're way too calm about this," she slipped out, seemingly voicing her thoughts if slapping her hands over her mouth indicated anything.

He merely raised an eyebrow at her. "Did you want me to not be calm? I've accepted it. If this is my way of life now, then so be it."

"Sorry, it's just...it's been a while since someone new has joined my peerage, and I forgot how people would react. Well, I've heard stories…" she started rambling, and her eyes started trailing away from him. He stopped her by placing his able hand comfortably on her head, and she looked at him again.

"That's enough. Don't worry about it. Just continue with what you were saying."

He took his hand off her head and allowed her to continue.

"Right. So you're a member of my peerage, and what that..." she sighed, opening her mouth and closing it repeatedly, like she didn't know how to explain what she was about to say. "What that means is that you're my servant, and I'm your master. BUT! I will treat you as anything but. I treat my own peerage like my own family, so you don't have to worry about me forcing my will onto you...for the most part."

"I see."

She looked at him in exasperation.

Suddenly, he stood from the bed and faced her, the strong and unwavering gaze from earlier returned, and she fidgeted. He kneeled on one knee and bowed his head.

"From this day forth, I live to serve you...my lord."

Sincerity, loyalty, and conviction emanated from his voice and action, which stunned Rias into silence.

"No, no, no, you don't need to do that for me!" she shook her head and waved her arms vigorously, accentuating the fact that she did not want that relationship with him.

Wolf bolted his head, looking at her with confusion. "...Why?"

"Because," she got up and kneeled in front of him, their faces inches apart, and she continued softly, "I just want to be treated as someone for who I am. Not as royalty, nor as someone who I am expected to be. I just want to be Rias."

"...I see, but—"

She placed her finger on his lips, hushing him, "How about this? As your lord, I command you to treat me, and everyone like family. Does that work?"

She removed her finger from his lips, and awaited his answer. He remained silent, as conflict flickered in his eyes.

With hesitance, he replied, "I...will try...Rias-sama."

She smiled and she stood up, breasts jiggling at her momentum. "Hmmm. Just Rias is fine, but we'll work on that. Now, get up. It's time to get ready for school."

At her command, he stood, and looked around the room once more. "You never told me where we were. And also…" he turned his head, hiding a soft blush from Rias, "Why do we not have clothes on?"

His blush did not go undetected by the red head.

"What was that? I couldn't hear you when your voice is being projected the other way," she teased, seemingly aware of his awkwardness.

His head twitched, as he slowly turned his head to face her, his blush growing fuller by the second as her naked body came into view. Though with great persistence, he managed to wash away his reddened cheeks, and his usual stoic face returned.

She pouted in response, before finally relenting.

"We are currently in the old building at school," she explained, turning to retrieve the uniforms on the dresser. She handed Sekiro his pair, which he gratefully took. "I took you here last night, because I couldn't find where you live. As for why we were naked, that's just how I heal. The more physical contact we have, the stronger my healing capabilities are."

Sekiro nodded in satisfaction, as he slipped on his uniform. His boxers and pants, he was able to put on with relative ease. Though the rest was a different story. It was hard to button his shirt and tie a tie with one usable hand after all.

Rias, already finished with changing, watched with amusement as Sekiro struggled to form the knot for his tie. Though, what got her attention was his lack of use with his left arm.

"Why don't you use both hands?"

Sekiro allowed the tie to fall limply against his chest.

"I can't. My left arm is defunct."

A look of concern washed over her face, as she stepped towards him, reaching for his lilac colored arm.

Sekiro, noticing this, jerked his left arm back before she could come into contact with it.

"Don't," he said, and her hands fell to her side. Hurt formed on her face from his rejection and she bowed her head, and though he hardly dealt with emotions, even he knew when to apologize. Especially to his new lord, no less.

He spoke with a softness that surprised him. "Forgive me for offending you. It's...not necessary. It's been like this for a while. I'm used to it, so please don't worry about it."

He softly placed his working hand on top of her head and gave her a soft ruffle. It was something that quelled Kuro from sadness, so he took a chance and wondered if it would work on Rias too.

Fortunately for him, she looked back up, a smile growing on her face, and if he didn't know better, a victorious one at that.

He shook his head, and sighed at whatever antic she was playing. "Let's go."

And with that, he exited the room, tie be damned.

**So as you can see, yes. This is the end of rewritten chapter one. Please continue to give me more criticism. I find it hot.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello there.**** I just want to say that I appreciate the kind words about the first chapter so far, and I hope this one meets your expectations as well. It means a lot. With that being said, a couple of things to discuss.**

**1\. Someone offered the introduction of Koneko into the harem. I don't know about that yet, as I'm trying to figure out how to write romance between more than one person still. I will, however, let y'all know.**

**2\. Me saying "See y'all in four years". Do not fret, I doubt that will happen. See what happened was, was that I released my first story a little over four years ago, back in 2016 (I think), and I fell off of fanfiction shortly after. So, I actually came back, read it, went "Damn, I actually liked where I was going with this", and updated the story four years later.**

**3\. I don't think I ever made a disclaimer in the first chapter, so here it is: I own nothing about DxD or Shadows. **

**4\. Be safe y'all. Hopefully I'll have more time to write frequently, given that we are currently on lock down due to COVID-19, butt I still have to attend online lectures for school, and I still have to go to work. **

**That being said, I shall see you at the end.**

**Edit: So here I've toned down some of the sociability for Sekiro. I hope this is better for you guys. Looking back at it now, I realize that some of the things his actions didn't really make sense. Like, why would he give Issei Kuro's charm off the rip? So I've fixed that, and hopefully I'll do better in further chapters with character development pacing and the like.**

Relaxing, it seemed, was going to be a luxury in this time too, if last night meant anything. Though he didn't mind. Too much relaxation can lead to carelessness. Hence why he never really let his guard down even when there was a bit of down time back then.

Did he count the past six months as relaxation? No, not really. True, life was stagnant, but it wasn't relaxing. It was full of dreariness and pain. One could hardly call that relaxing.

Even in the present, despite his new lord's words, life was still full of dreariness and pain. He would have to see if her words rang true.

So moments like these, where he would just sit under the shade, and let the breeze brush against his face, he relished. He tuned out the various white noises that was produced by the footsteps and the chattering of the students that passed by. Instead, he focused on the rustling of the leaves blowing gently against the wind. He focused on the whistling of the wind as a draft flew by. He focused on the mountain that loomed overhead, watching the city from a distance.

Mount Kongo. It was one of the first things he noticed when he...got here. He wondered how Mount Kongo changed in this time. Did they succeed in their development for immortality? Or did they wither away with time? And what about the bell?

The bell that housed a demon. The bell that stood isolated on a separate peak, standing silently, waiting, begging for it to be rung. And when the bell rang, the sound reverberated across the mountains, slightly disturbing life there, while the demon skillfully and silently finessed its way into the soul, making life much more bountiful...at a price.

Or so the legend went.

Maybe that was why things turned out as they did.

The mountain was as beautiful as it was once before. The white snowy tops faded into gold and red dots, like autumn, before fading into a luscious green forest that stretched to the rest of the earth. The mountain was beautiful. The memories were not.

But he chose not to dwell on that. This was, of course, a time for relaxation.

He closed his eyes, burning the scenery in front of him into the back of his eyelids, and he heard the ever-present choir that rang from the temples. He opened his eyes, and it disappeared, replaced once again by the local sounds of nature.

Strange. He closed his eyes again, focusing on the choir that rang from the past.

"...enpai."

His brow furrowed. Was it saying something?

"Sekiro-senpai!"

Sekiro's eyes snapped open, and he was greeted with the familiar face of his partner in death. Or at least...supposed death. He blinked, weariness present as ever in his eyes, as he gazed into the eyes of the relatively innocent boy in front of him, who looked at him in curiosity.

"Hm?" He grunted in greeting.

"What are you doing out here? The bell rang a couple of moments ago," Issei said, standing in front of him with his bag slung over his shoulders, as he panted slightly. He looked like he just finished running.

Sekiro didn't know he ran.

"Did it." He said, uncaring of the importance of the next few hours. His supposed new purpose did not fuel his ignition to do anything in class. He had other things to focus on, though he did find some classes useful. Things like physics that helped him understand how objects moved in relation to each other. Like how gravity affects the speed at which an object fell as it was being thrown. It made him want to practice throwing shuriken again, much like how he did when he was younger.

The next thing he knew, he found Issei dropping his pack and taking a seat next to him. The two sat on the grass under the shade of a beautiful cherry blossom. A petal landed softly atop his head. Despite the gentleness of the impact, he still felt it, and he plucked it atop his head, and stared at it intently.

Interesting.

He flicked the petal away before turning to the brunette. "Aren't you going to class?"

"Yeah," Issei drew out, looking like he was just beginning to get comfortable, "but I think with the amount of school work I've done, I'm just gonna sit here and relax too."

"Hm." He shook his head. Great. Now he had a partner; though what the boy decided to do was not his problem. It was his choice, after all.

"Say…" Issei started, "has that mountain always looked that beautiful?"

Sekiro nodded. "It has."

Though if the boy knew what went on back then, he would think twice about complementing such an ominous mountain.

The two sat in silence, and Sekiro decided to close his eyes. If Issei wanted to tag along, fine, but he was not going to ruin his moment of relaxation.

Then, he heard it. Muted, like he was listening through a wall, but the sound reverberated around him. The harmonious humming of men increased in volume, before converting into snoring. Loud snoring.

His eyes opened, and he shot a glare at the boy next to him, who lay outstretched on the ground, mouth wide open and eyes closed. He inhaled deeply producing the rough sound of a snore, and exhaled producing an even louder sound. He was not going to be able to relax like this. Perhaps he should relocate.

Before he could, distant footsteps caught his attention, and a familiar melodious voice reached his ears.

"Wolf, what are you doing out here?"

He turned to see the familiar blue eyes and red hair of his lord, her hair swishing slightly as she approached him. His gaze lingered on her, before turning back to the mountain. "I was just relaxing."

Rias frowned, as she stood beside him. "You know classes started ten minutes ago."

His eyebrow furrowed. Ten minutes ago? It felt like three.

Finishing his assessment, he sighed, slackening his brow. "I see."

He heard her chuckle, and he turned to look towards her, as she took a seat beside him. "I see you two are close."

Close? He didn't think so. "...He just came up to me."

She hummed, as she eyed the sleeping boy. Apparently, she didn't think so. "Hmmm. I think being with someone in their death changes people's outlook."

His brow furrowed once again.

With a speed that even surprised him, he managed to grab his Lord and dashed through the doors that led to his room. Fast footsteps were heard from behind.

For the first time, he saw his lord bleeding and in pain. His face was incredibly pale. Even more so than usual. His body reeked of vile energy and corrupted aura, and his wound was deep. Incredibly deep. If he didn't get help soon, he would perish.

"Wolf…" he heard his lord mutter.

"Almost there, Kuro-sama," he hushed the young lord, as he made his way up the stairs, and there it was. Sitting by the wall was his saving grace. The stoney statue of Buddha sat awaiting.

He shook his head, dispelling himself of the thought. It was a memory that he didn't want to confront.

Finally acknowledging his new lord's statement, he hesitantly replied, subconsciously gripping his fist before relaxing it. "...I suppose."

His action did not go unnoticed by his new lord, and she looked at him with concern.. "...Do you want to talk about last night?"

Immediately, and with a harsh tone that surprisingly overtook his usually stoic voice, he replied, "No, but if you want me to, then I have no choice but to comply."

Rias flinched at his sudden harshness, and she recovered slightly. "N-no! I just…I want you to tell me when you're ready."

He immediately realized the error of his way. His features softened slightly, and like this morning, he raised his hand and gently placed it on top of her head, ruffling her tidy hair. "My apologies, Rias-sama. I didn't mean to come off as harsh. I'm still coming to grips with it."

With what happened. Not last night. But he wasn't ready to bring that up yet. Not even remotely close to bringing it up yet. Though if she forced him to spill, he would have no choice to comply. But she didn't. He respected that.

He noticed that she eased slightly when he began rubbing her head, and after a minute, she let out a satisfied hum.

"That's okay. I understand that it's not easy, and I'll be here when you're ready. Now," she said, standing up, as she brushed herself off, "I believe it's time for us to go to class."

Sekiro sighed as he shook his head.

"Oh, don't give me that. You're under my peerage now, and so I expect for you to try harder in school. Consider it my first…," she paused, as if she were trying to figure out what to say next, "decree...as your...lord."

Her nose crinkled in what seemed to be disgust, and he huffed slightly. It was the closest thing to laughter he'd ever come to.

But if that was her will…

"Then I must comply," he said, standing up from his relaxing spot. Well. It was relaxing, until…

His eyes shot over to the sleeping boy beside him.

"Hmm, we should wake him too. He's under my peerage, so I'm expecting for him to be putting in as much effort as you in your studies," Rias said, as she too eyed the form of a sleeping Issei. "Well, or maybe it's the other way around."

He shook his head at her little jab, before nudging Issei softly on his side with his feet. A groan emitted from the boy's lips, but he showed no effort to wake up.

He heard Rias giggle in the back.

"Oi," he said, still nudging his feet against Issei's side.

"Oi," he said, louder still, as he continued nudging.

Nothing.

'Fine,' Sekiro thought. He was content with leaving the boy there to bask away in his slumber, but he felt like she would disapprove of his actions.

So, pulling his foot back further than usual, he delivered a swift and hard kick to the sleeping boy's side, and he lifted into the air for a second, before landing with a thud. Issei's eyes snapped open, as he yelled in pain.

"Ow! Senpai! Why?!" he cried, tears comically flowing down his face, as he clutched his aching side.

"Because Rias-sama wanted me to wake you, so you could head to class," Sekiro stated, his lips twitching upwardly before being covered with a stoic mask.

"Rias-sama?" Issei asked, as he shot the shinobi a confused look, before moving his head a liiiiittle to the left, and his eyes widened.

His pain seemingly disappearing, he jumped upwards. "R-R-Rias-sama! Senpai! Sama! Senpai! A-a pleasure!"

He bowed repeatedly, his hair swishing wildly up and down with his movement.

Sekiro watched with hidden amusement, and he gazed back at his red haired lordess, who only looked at Issei with an awkward smile and a sweatdrop.

Clearly, the boy was making her uncomfortable, and he set out to act.

Stepping beside the boy, he caught Issei by the collar as he rose his head up for the millionth time, causing him to stop. "Enough."

With the boy finally calming down, Sekiro nodded to himself before stepping behind Rias, and standing obliquely to her left.

Nodding in appreciation, she greeted the brown haired boy who stood starstruck in front of the two.

"Hello, Issei-san, a pleasure to formally meet you," she said, bowing her head.

"R-Rias-sama, a pleasure!" He greeted back ecstatically, as he too bowed his head.

"Oh, no, no, please, just call me Rias," she smiled at his identical mention. "May I call you Issei?"

"Of course! Of course Rias-sam...err...Rias. Call me whatever you want!" he replied with just as much eagerness, before shooting her a confused look, as he pointed a finger at the shinobi who stood behind her. "But, so then...why does Sekiro-senpai call you Rias-sama?"

"Sekiro…senpai?" She asked unsurely, following the trail of his finger, until her eyes happened upon the shinobi behind her.

"Rias-sama?" he asked curiously.

"Why did he call you Sekiro?"

Oh right. He forgot that he didn't die last night.

"It's...how I introduced myself to him, before we were going to die."

She frowned. "Why didn't you tell me your name was Sekiro?"

Was that...sadness he could hear in her voice?

"My apologies, Rias-sama. But it's the same. Sekiro or Wolf."

Sekiro. One-armed Wolf. Just another derivation of that whole 'Wolf' theme his foster-father started.

Seemingly unsatisfied with his answer, she spoke. "But you should've told me your name was Sekiro! I knew Wolf sounded too weird to be a name."

His eye twitched at her comment. Tell that to the oversized bird that called him that.

Seeing that she was becoming slightly agitated, he placed his hand atop her head again, ruffling her hair gently, and he replied softly. "My apologies, Rias-sama. It's just been something that I've been called for a long time now."

She frowned again, but seemed to be satisfied by his answer this time. The head ruffling was more effective on her than it was on Kuro.

"Fine, but I'm calling you Sekiro…"

He nodded. "Whatever you desire."

"You bastard!" Issei shouted, and the two turned to face the bystander, who had his finger pointed accusingly at the shinobi. "Since when?!"

"What do you mean?" Sekiro asked, removing his hand from his lady's head, and he raised his eyebrow.

Before anything escalated any further, Rias stepped in between the two. "Now, now. Sekiro, Issei. We have somewhere to be now, so I ask that you two come to the club room to finish things there."

Now that got their attention. Club room?

"Club room?" Issei asked curiously. Seemed the boy had the same thoughts as he did.

Without elaborating, Rias nodded. "That's right. The both of you come by after class. I'm sure you'll know where it is."

With that, she turned, her hair flipping dramatically as she walked away, with a slight hop in her step that only Sekiro caught. He wondered what was on her mind.

"Do you know where the club room is, Senpai?" he heard Issei ask, and he turned back to his junior, who was scratching his head.

His gaze turned to the old building that stood, a ways away. He had an idea.

* * *

Rias felt giddy inside, her step taking a slight bounce, as she walked away from her two new peerage members and straight to class.

'That exit was so cool and mysterious!' she sighed to herself happily. It was rare that she was able to do things like that, so she would jump on the opportunity once it arose. She wondered when the next one was going to be. 'Maybe when they come into the club room later!'

Yes, let it be known that she, Rias Gremory, was a biiit of a show off.

But she also wanted to exude her presence as one of authority, especially to her two new peerage members. Wolf...or Sekiro already treated her as such the second she informed him that she was his new master, and he hadn't even given her the opportunity to be able to do something like that.

Though, she got her chance, when she surprisingly found the two relaxing in the shade of a cherry blossom in the courtyard in the middle of her patrol route.

Why they were there, she didn't know, but from what she'd heard from Akeno yesterday, was that Wol—Sekiro didn't care for academics, which also explained why he seemed uncaring when she told her to go to class yesterday.

And even then, looking into those painfully empty eyes of his, she would've surmised that class would be the last thing he wanted to focus on.

Now that brought another question in relation to the boy. Wolf. Or Sekiro, as it turned out to be. He said that he was referred to by Wolf almost all of his life. Why was that? Where did Sekiro come from then? Maybe Wolf was just a nickname, and he'd been so used to it that he gave his name off as Wolf now? But that didn't make sense as to why he told Issei that his name was Sekiro.

She shook her head. It was Wol—Sekiro's story to tell. Hopefully he would tell her someday.

She huffed, walking up the stairs of the wing, noting that it was surprisingly empty. She noticed that with Sona gone, many more of the students were hanging outside of class, and just...meandering about. Every time she would tell them to go to class, they would do so without hesitation, before muttering a sorry. Some of them even had lame excuses like, "Sorry Rias-oneesama, I had to go to the bathroom," yet they stayed put by the sides of the halls. Clearly, she didn't exude the same amount of...authority that the usually tyrannical council president has.

So this...change of pace was...for some reason unsettling.

Footsteps echoed down the hall, and her head jerked towards the noise. 'Finally, a bit of excitement!'

"Hey!" she shouted, and she frowned when she stared at the figure that produced the footsteps. A man, wearing old garb and scraps of armor walked down the hall away from her, unheeded her call. In one hand, he held a...she couldn't make it out. A stick? That had a flame at the end? And on his waist, lay a sword.

What was he doing here? How did he get in here?

Her eyes flickered with panic, knowing that such a danger was this close to the students of Kuoh Academy, and she ran toward him.

Her mind ran rampant with ideas on how to stop this danger. She couldn't use her powers of destruction, lest she wanted to blow the whole school up. And what if the man lunged at her with his sword? Then what? She was fast, but you know how they say—never assume anything about your enemies.

The man continued walking, either he didn't care for her rapidly approaching footsteps, or he didn't hear her.

What made her stop in her tracks, however, was that, as he passed by a window, the sunlight that leaked through...shone through his body, and his features grew transparent from the normally solid colors of reality, into an ethereal pale lilac.

Then, he turned to look at her. Slowly, his neck craned, and he made eye contact with her, and Rias tensed, ready to engage...whatever that thing was. But before anything could happen, a loud resounding snap rocked her ears, and she covered them in pain, as she watched the man billow away into nothingness, like he was never there to begin with.

'What the hell just happened?' she thought, lowering her hands from her ears as she looked around. What did just happen? Where did that snap come from?

Then, as if everything returned to normal in the world, she heard the hushed whispers of students lounging around in the halls, and random footsteps in random directions. She turned around, and she saw students that weren't there before.

'What the hell just happened?' she reiterated again, before shaking her head. There were students that needed to get to class. So much for excitement.

* * *

Sekiro sat begrudgingly in class, trying his hardest to focus on the lesson at hand for once. The teacher looked at his usually empty desk in shock, and for once he had out a notebook and a pen. Everyone must've been curious about where his supplies came from, considering that he didn't have a bag. Why have one, when his little pouch held everything?

Regardless, he would've been more successful in actually keeping track of the lesson, if what happened a few hours ago didn't happen. His teacher's voice soon muted out into muffles as he thought back to earlier.

'That was…' Sekiro couldn't wrap his head around what was, just a few hours ago. Or rather, he knew what that was.

He was decidedly lucky to have followed his master, else he would have missed that...ghost.

His brow furrowed. He was sure of it. That was an illusion. The transparent lilac of the figure indicated a very familiar illusion, too. One that reminded him of the butterflies that his teacher once used.

Thinking back to the master of illusions, he wondered what happened to her. Before those three years in that well felt like a gap to him. Like he was missing something important. And when he crawled out of that well, he hadn't seen her again.

'Is she alive?' He shook his head. No, that was impossible. He knew that he was thrown so far forward in time, he was sure that any remnant of what he once knew was gone. Except maybe…

Red eyes gleamed from the exuberant general samurai he'd just recently ended, as he lifted from the ground, like a ghost was possessing him until he stood back on his own two feet.

What if...he was still alive?

He shook his head. He was getting off track.

Despite the happenstance, there was something else that he realized too.

His arm. The one that he had trouble moving recently.

His left gauzed arm was raised to complete the clap that would dispel the illusion. He didn't even realize that he moved it until he stared at the hand that held the flattened green casing of the seed.

But when it finally dropped, an excruciating jolt of pain rocked his arm afterwards. Truly, it was strange. How was he able to move it?

He lifted his left arm in a sudden quick jerk and it flopped on top of the desk, the hard sound of wood hitting wood resonating throughout the classroom, as eyes turned to stare at him.

His eyes shut harshly, containing the pain at moving his defunct arm in such an extreme motion.

"Interrupting class are you?" Came his teacher's voice, which sounded disapproving. "And here I thought you decided to put in effort for once. Seems I was wrong."

Deciding to ignore his teacher's comment, he glanced around the class, and though some of the students' eyes returned to the front, he saw a glimpse of violet among the eyes that continued to stare at him.

"Now, class—"

Riiiiiing!

His teacher clicked his tongue, before announcing. "Saved by the bell. Your assignment for the history of Kuoh is due tomorrow!"

With that, the daily sound of eager kids waiting to escape the confines of the classroom filled the air.

"Wolf-kun, are you okay?" he heard from behind him, and seemingly like yesterday, the bustling sounds quieted down, as Akeno approached him. He hoped this wasn't going to be a daily occurence, but if she stopped by his desk everyday, then fine, he wasn't going to stop her.

He turned to her and nodded. "I am."

"Are you sure? Because earlier…" she trailed, referring to his unusual standing-out incident.

He nodded again. This whole day was weird. "Don't worry too much about it."

She frowned, before slightly budging from her spot, like she was going to head out. "If...if you say so. I'll be going ahead. We'll see each other later."

He nodded. He didn't have to ask to know what she was talking about.

She hesitated in walking away again, as if he were expecting for him to say something, or ask something, but he didn't, and the two remained in place in silence.

He only shot her a raised eyebrow, which asked what she was still doing here.

"Right…" she muttered, before finally leaving the class. Everyone's eyes were still on him though, and murmurs arose in the classroom.

"Did he deny our Akeno-chan something?"

"That bastard, she probably wanted to walk with him!"

"That's disgusting, don't say such a thing."

He was getting a headache. He really wanted them to shut up.

He really wanted to close his eyes, but he remembered that Rias asked for Issei and him to head to the club room after school. What club, he didn't know, and while he was initially planning to head there straight away, he remembered that his kouhai probably didn't have a clue as to what his red haired lord was referring to.

So with that, he stood up, and set out to go find the brunette.

* * *

The sound of scurrying always made him a tad paranoid. Were they rats waiting for an ambush? Or were they gigantic insects?

They were neither.

There, camouflaged in the trees with leaves and brown paint covering their bodies and hair (and a bald head), were three people with binoculars. They almost looked like the Nightjar. Hell, maybe he could join them? He had his own nightjar monocle after all.

Swiftly pulling his tubular lens from his pouch, he brought it up to his eye with a click, and aimed it in the direction that the three stooges were looking.

He saw...girls...swimming. And he immediately whipped his monocle away from his eye, looking down as a small blush sported his face. Let it be known that Issei was a pervert.

Maybe they were rats.

"Issei," he called out, pocketing his monocular, followed by hushes of whispering and rustling. No response from the boy decorated in leaves.

"Issei," he called out again, kicking the tree hard. Rustling again, followed by the three tumbling down onto the ground and yelps of pain.

"Wah!" Issei shouted, jolting his head up.

"I told you to get down when you were called Issei…" one of them, who wore glasses, muttered in pain.

"Now you ruined our peeping," the other one with a bald head added.

"What?! And leave you guys with all the fun? If one goes down, we all do! No man left behind!" Issei argued.

"Maybe for you, but not for us!" his two friends yelled back before scrambling up the tree, taking their positions again.

"Hey! Wai—"

Before Issei could refute, Sekiro grabbed the back of his collar, dragging him away.

"Waaait, where are we going?!" Issei shouted.

"We are required somewhere," Sekiro responded, dragging the boy away with ease.

"What do you…?" Issei trailed, as he stared at the spot he last occupied. A flood of girls in kendo uniform surrounded the two remaining boys.

Shouts of pain and duress began to emanate from the location, but Sekiro paid the commotion no heed, as he continued to drag the pervert away and towards the implied rendezvous point.

"Oh yeah," Issei said in realization, ignoring the painful shouts of his previous companions in the distance. "Rias-senpai said she wanted us in this...club room after school today!",

Sekiro released his hold on the brunette's collar and nodded.

Suddenly, Issei placed a hand onto his shoulder, sniffling a little bit, and Sekiro tensed at the boy's sudden contact. "You know what? Thank you. Getting to see Rias-senpai twice in one day beats peeping any day."

To that, Sekiro could only raise an eyebrow, and he suddenly felt conscious about the hand on his shoulder.

"No it doesn't, no it doesn't," Issei redacted, as he began to mutter to himself, poking his fingers against each other, "Nothing beats peeping. Nothing…"

In the course of his ruckus, voices began flooding in from the students walking past, sometimes emitting stares of disgust and even harsher words.

While these would not affect the shinobi in any way, he couldn't say the same about the young pervert.

"Ugh, look, the pervert and the loner, hanging out together…"

"You know, I sort of could tolerate the pervert, but to see him with the nobody? Just shows that he can't make the right friends."

"Disgusting…"

Those words seemingly brought a hamper onto Issei's mood, as he bowed his head in depression.

Sekiro looked at him impassively in silence, before speaking. "Ignore them. They don't know you."

He remembered that fateful day when that letter fell from the sky, and following the instruction to meet his lord at the Moonview Tower, as he was sneaking around, he heard some of the guards talking.

"He's just a cowardly shinobi. No weapon, no will to fight, no lord…"

Oh how he remembered slaughtering them all that night.

He shook his head, before walking away, leaving the boy behind.

Issei watched his retreating back contemplatively.

"You know what? Senpai, maybe you're right," Issei muttered to himself, as he ran after the boy whose distance got further and further away.

* * *

The relatively dilapidated building, Sekiro so affectionately called it. The two stared up at the building that loomed over their heads. Red flashed through the open window. They were waiting.

With a creak, the door in front of them opened slowly, revealing a small white-haired girl, with amber eyes. Her face fixated in monotony as she stared flatly at the two.

"That's...you're...Koneko-chan! Oh wow, first Rias-senpai, and now Koneko-chan?! Truly I have been blessed!" Issei gushed loudly as he stared at the small girl.

"Senpai," she greeted to Sekiro, before turning her attention to the brunette. "Hentai."

Issei facefaulted, as if he recoiled from an arrow piercing his heart. "K-Koneko-chan…"

"Hello," Sekiro nodded his head, and the girl cleared the way, allowing the two entry.

The two walked in, with Sekiro keeping his eyes forward, as Issei looked around in amazement, flickers of lechery appearing in his eyes as Koneko's lithe figure entered his gaze.

"Stop staring, hentai," Koneko reprimanded monotonously, not looking back.

Once again, Issei stumbled in his step at being called out. He wasn't as discreet as he thought he was.

Finally entering the main chambers, they saw Akeno and Rias on one couch, who were hushedly conversing with each other, and another boy with golden blonde hair, sitting calmly on the opposite couch that surrounded a small coffee table in front of a desk.

Sekiro noticed a slight change in humidity and a shower behind the desk, which implied that it was used recently.

Then, he honed in on the conversation the two beauts were having, and he closed his eyes. Everything seemingly muted out, as their voices amplified.

"It was like a ghost. Have you ever encountered anything like that before?"

"No, I haven't. That's really weird. Maybe someone is targeting you?"

"I doubt that. Nobody would dare attack amidst Kuoh, especially when it's under the jurisdiction of the two Maous."

"And what of that loud snap…?"

"Later."

With the conclusion of that little eavesdrop, he opened his eyes, as Akeno and Rias turned to greet the members who collected into the dimly lit room.

"Buchou, they're here," Koneko said, allowing the two newcomers to enter full view for the three, before taking a seat next to the blonde.

"Ara ara, if it isn't Wolf-kun and Issei-san."

"Thank you, Koneko," Rias said, nodding to the petite girl, before turning to Issei and Sekiro. "Hello you two."

"Rias-sama. Akeno-san," Sekiro greeted, nodding his head.

Rias frowned at the honorific of his name, but said nothing about it.

"Ara, why does Rias get to be called Rias-sama? I want you to treat me like a princess too!" Akeno whined playfully.

Sekiro furrowed his brows slightly. "My apologies. That is a title reserved for my lord."

Akeno pouted in response. "Lord? That's not fair…"

"Rias-senpai! Akeno-senpai! Ahhhhhhh! Thank you for gracing me with your presence!" Issei shouted, falling to his knees and bowing to them repeatedly.

The two sweatdropped at the praise. What an ecstatic new member. Akeno shot Rias a knowing look, who only responded with a slight shake of her head.

The blond who had been idly sitting by, finally opened his mouth to speak, "Hello there, I'm—"...before he was promptly cut off by Issei, who stopped his ritual and glared at the boy.

"No one cares, pretty boy!"

"Oh…," the blond replied dejectedly.

Sekiro shook his head. "Ignore him. He is a child."

"Oi," Issei shot back.

The blond only let out a small chuckle, obviously taking the boy's abruption in jest. "As I was saying, I'm Kiba Yuuto."

"Kiba-san," Sekiro acknowledged. "I'm Wolf."

"Wolf…? What a strange name," the blond replied contemplatively. That name wasn't going to get any rest, was it.

Issei frowned, before turning to the shinobi. "Wolf? I thought your name was Sekiro? Come to think of it, Akeno-senpai called you Wolf too."

Sekiro shut his eyes, feeling a headache coming. Why were conversations about his name always coming up? Rubbing the bridge of his nose, he responded. "It doesn't matter what you call me."

Akeno perked up at the mention of Sekiro. "So your name is Wolf? Or Sekiro?"

Sekiro opened his mouth to speak, but Rias seemed to beat him to the punch. "He said Wolf was something that he's been called for a while, so I guess he's just used to being called that?"

Akeno turned to him imploringly. "So what do you want me to call you?"

"It doesn't matter."

"No, no, ignore him. His name is Sekiro," Issei butted in, and Sekiro, once again, raised an eyebrow at the boy.

"What?" Issei defended, "You gotta start introducing your name as Sekiro. Wolf just sounds weird."

Akeno nodded in acceptance. "Yeah, Se-ki-ro-kun, it sounds better than Wolf, ufufu…"

"But that's what I've always been called."

"Yeah, but now you're going to go by Sekiro. That's a real name."

"I agree with Issei-san. Wolf sounds more distant than Sekiro, and since you'll be with us more often, it would only make sense that we break that distance barrier," Kiba commented, as he watched the entire exchange. He felt a bit left out. He turned towards the white haired girl beside him, who was concentratedly eating a brownie. It seemed she didn't feel left out.

"I see." Sekiro nodded, his the corners of his mouth twitching upwards slightly.

"Okay!" Rias interrupted, clapping her hand loudly to gather everyone's attention. "Let's get down to business. I've already ran this through with Sekiro, so now it's your turn Issei."

Said boy nodded eagerly, who seemed happy that he was being given the red haired beauty's attention.

Sekiro left Issei's side and walked behind the couch Rias sat, standing behind her with a subtle hint of protection.

Even Rias felt this, as he noticed that she slackened slightly in her composition.

"So Issei. You are a devil," she announced, the boy looking at her with a confused look.

"What do you mean a devil? How?"

"Well for starters," Rias started, as she showcased her wings unfurling. Soon after, everyone else unfurled their wings.

Issei stepped back in shock. "Wh-what?"

"You have wings too," Akeno pointed out, pointing her finger a little ways past Issei and at his black appendages sticking out.

"Really?!" He turned his head, catching a glimpse of black. "Woah that's so…so...cool…"

His enthusiasm died off, as he bowed his head in depression.

It was Rias's turn to be confused now. "Err...what's...what's wrong…?"

"Nothing, nothing...it's just...I can't achieve my dream anymore!" Issei cried out, falling to his knees as he looked up to the sky. "I just wanted a harem! Why God! Why?!"

Excruciating jolts of pain rang through everyone's heads, followed by shouts of pain, save for Sekiro, who only shut his eyes harshly.

"Please don't do that again," Rias pleaded, the pain finally subsiding.

"S-sorry. Wh-why did that happen?" Issei asked, rubbing his head.

"We're not allowed to utter his name," Rias explained, rubbing her temples.

"A terrible weakness," Sekiro commented, and Rias looked up at him.

"It is."

Issei looked over in jealousy, as waves of anger seemed to travel from the brunette. Sekiro looked at the boy with a passive face that held the slightest bit of amusement. Intimidation didn't suit the boy.

"Anyways," Rias started, either oblivious or uncaring of the boy's anger, though he seemed happy to be under her attention once again.

She hesitated, and though she kept calm and collected, a very very slight hint of cringe adorned her features. It seemed that nobody, but Akeno noticed and she giggled.

"I suppose that once you've ranked up enough as a devil, you'd be able to acquire your own peerage, which would be something akin to...a harem, if you so wish."

Issei broke into a smile, excitement filling his eyes at the revelation. "Really?! So I can get a harem?!"

"If...if you try hard enough," Rias sweatdropped.

She coughed into her fist, signaling for the boy to listen to her.

So, with that being said," she gazed back upwards to her silent protector, "there are some important things that you two should know about being a devil."

Sekiro nodded, while Issei focused on her face, or at least, she hoped he was looking at her face.

"Right. So as devils, we have two enemy factions whom we're at war with. The angels and the fallen angels. Angels are something I'm sure you've already heard of."

"Angels, like...those people in robes up in heaven who are people of Go—him? You mean they exist?"

She nodded. "Angels are the direct servants of the Biblical God, and they reside in Heaven. They are incredibly dangerous because many ancient artifacts were derived from heaven or holy power. So they have the ability, especially for newly reincarnated devils who are still weak, to fully eradicate devils. Though, for the most part, angels themselves are rather passive. The same can't be said about exorcists or the Vatican though, who are humans that work in conjunction with Angels."

Sekiro was intrigued, though wasn't surprised. Angels who worked with humans. The Snake Eyes came to mind. They were descendants of the Okami, and the Okami's domain was the Divine Realm. Wait, was that considered heaven?

"And fallen angels were angels, but fell to their cardinal sins. You probably know them as well."

"Oh! Like...lust...and everything else," Issei stated.

'Of course, that was the only thing he could name...,' Rias had to sweatdrop...along with everyone else. She continued. "But yes. Like...lust...and everything else. Sekiro-kun, Issei, the woman that...killed you last night was a fallen angel."

"Raynare…" he uttered. Her name escaping his lips like a ghost, and everyone looked up towards the boy. Sekiro's brow furrowed in response. That explained the black, crow-like wings. He presumed that angels, then, had white feathery ones, and devils and ones that were more akin to...bats.

"But...but why me?" Issei asked depressedly, everyone's attention on him now.

"I'm suspecting that you're targeted because you own what is called a Sacred Gear," Rias stated.

"Sacred...Gear…?" Issei asked in confusion. Sekiro was curious as well, this was new.

Before Rias could speak, Akeno picked up, "Artifacts created by the original Biblical God that exude an enormous amount of power. Only humans and human hybrids can naturally own one. Some say that the most prominent historical figures used Sacred Gears to aid their influence."

Issei nodded with rapt attention, before looking up, stroking his chin contemplatively, while Sekiro thought back to the many enemies he'd fought. A lot of the enemies he'd fought were abnormally large. Maybe they held Sacred Gear?

As if coming to a conclusion, Issei brightened. "So what you're saying is...that she was targeting me because my dick is something called a Sacred Gear?!"

In a show of comedic proportions, Issei managed to project his thoughts to the group in the room, showing various beautiful women, of breasts different sizes, of hips various widths, of thighs various thicknesses, of women various races (and species. Who knew, maybe there was a hot lizard-like woman up in the heavens?), as they tried to fight each other in massive bloodshed to acquire his Sacred Gear.

"That must be why Raynare killed me! So that only she could have my Sacred Gear! That's kinda selfish actually. My powers deserve to be shared with the women of the world...worlds!" Issei shouted passionately, drive flaring in his eyes.

Everyone blinked in stupor, as one collective thought rang through their heads: 'How...how did he come to that conclusion?'

Sekiro shook his head. Let it be known, once again, that Issei was a pervert. A huge pervert.

"Issei," Sekiro said sternly, recovering from said stupor a split second before Rias did, "focus."

"R-right. Sorry senpai," Issei muttered, returning from his imaginative high.

And Rias, whose words were stolen from her mouth, pouted, as a slight blush of embarrassment from having someone else take control dusted her face.

"Rias, you too. Focus," Sekiro directed his sternness towards her, and she felt an arrow pierce her heart, slumping onto herself in shame.

"Ara ara, seems like someone knows how to take control, ufufu…" Akeno giggled, and Rias glared at her.

Recomposing herself, she continued. "Okay, Issei. Please hold your left hand up."

Upon her instruction, the boy extended his left arm upward. "Like this?"

She nodded. "Now think of something strong. Your

will. Your…...dream…to name a few."

"Right!" Issei closed his eyes in utmost concentration. That did not last long. His face contorted into that of being constipated before his eyelids cracked open, and a lecherous blush donned his face. "Guhuh…."

Crack!

The sound of ceramic cracking and splintering resounded, as miniscule shards sprayed in different directions as a shard impacted his head.

"Gah!" Issei rubbed his head, as a welt began to form.

Everyone looked around in surprise, wondering where the foreign object came from. They scanned the room for any signs of broken furniture before settling onto the boy behind Rias, who stood with his arm extended. "Focus, I said."

"You threw that at me?!" Issei shouted. "Where did you even get that?!"

"Focus, or I'll throw this at you next time," Sekiro said, reaching into his pouch and brandishing a shuriken to the perverted boy. The steel glinted in the dim light of the room.

Issei's eyes widened, remembering the skillfully deadly usage of the weapon, and he trembled slightly. "R-right…"

Rias looked up at the intimidating boy curiously, as thoughts ran through her mind about how he acquired such a thing.

"Who knew our newest member was such a weeb like Buchou?" Akeno teased, causing Rias's face to fill with red.

Akeno smiled at the behest of their leader. "Oops, you weren't supposed to know that...yet."

Sekiro only shook his head at her statement, intently staring at the boy, slowly pulling his arm back menacingly. "I'm going to hit you where it counts."

Sweat now dripping down his head, Issei closed his eyes in the utmost concentration, fearful of what his threat entailed.

"Hhggggggggrah!" He fell to his knees, losing focus. "I can't…"

The shuriken spun rapidly in the air, grazing the tiny threads of Issei's brown hair as it impaled itself onto the wall behind Issei. Issei's eyes widened.

Everyone oscillated their looks between the boy who threw it and the shuriken on the wall. He didn't even make a sound when he threw it!

"You can," Sekiro refuted confidently.

"No I can't! I can't focus on the right thing right now!" Issei retorted, looking down in shame.

"That's alright. It might be a bit difficult for you right now," Rias spoke, consoling the downtrodden boy. "Truth is, the fallen angel was afraid. She saw something dangerous in you and had to act."

"S-so...you're saying that because she saw something dangerous, she decided to kill me? Is that how it's going to be every time? Will someone always try to kill me?" Issei asked dejectedly.

Sekiro stared at the boy in pity. Here was a boy, who'd done nothing but live his life normally, and if what his lord said held any truth to her words, then he was killed for something he couldn't control.

It was like with Kuro. Kuro was constantly being targeted for his immortality. Some wished to challenge that fact. Others wished to manipulate it. It was one of the reasons why Kuro wanted to fight. To get strong. To protect himself.

"...and I want to be able to protect you too."

Kuro's words of warmth rang in his mind.

That's right. If Issei wanted to stop being a target, if he wanted to protect himself, he would need to overcome this hurdle.

But there was another thing too. Issei was now a member of Rias's peerage, like him. If he's too weak to protect himself, then what of his master? He couldn't have that. Her safety is his priority, after all.

'Perhaps…' he wondered, an idea popping into his head.

As Rias opened her mouth to speak, he sighed, before leaving his post. Soft and silent footsteps made its way towards Issei, and when he was in front of him, he kneeled.

"Yes. There will be those who try to kill you," Sekiro stated bluntly, earning a depressed sigh from the boy. "But…"

Perhaps, he could offer something. Something to boost his morale, if not just a little. His mind flickered to a remnant of his past that he did not yet want to part with. No. There was something else.

His hand crossed his waist and into the small pouch that rested on it. He had it somewhere.

He felt eyes of curiosity on him, as his hand reached deeper in, the pouch enveloping his whole hand. It was in here somewhere. He felt for random things that weren't necessary. The grainy feeling of powder, the soft feathery fan, the sharp blade of another kunai.

"Where is it…?" he asked himself, as his brow furrowed.

"Ara ara, that pouch sure is larger than what it looks like…"

"Senpai, what are you…?"

Then, he felt it. The loose rope tickled his hands, and as he withdrew his hand, the soft sound of beads clacking together resonated in the silent room.

His first prayer necklace. The beads shone unnaturally blue in the dimly lit room, and the rope was a dusty light brown from being in the sun for too long back then. It was no use to him now, but maybe it would provide solace to the boy in front of him.

He held it out in front of him, the necklace hanging loosely from his hand, waiting for his partner-in-death to grab it.

"What's this?" Issei asked, as he stared at the necklace in wonder.

"A charm. To help you grow stronger," Sekiro explained softly, pushing it to the boy.

"Why?" he could only ask.

"You'll need it more than me. You need to grow strong to protect her."

With that Issei grasped the necklace in his hands, allowing the beads to roll around in his palm before fitting his head through the loop.

"S-senpai...thank you."

Sekiro only grunted before returning to his post.

Rias's lips graced a small smile, and admiration filled her eyes as her gaze followed the boy back to his spot.

"So Rias-senpai," Issei started, who looked a lot less depressed after receiving the surprising gift, "if Senpai and I died, how is it that we're alive?"

Her attention returned to the new member in front of her, nodding. As if she were expecting for this question to come up, she pulled out a small piece of paper with a pentagram from her pocket, and raised it so the boy could see it.

Issei's eyes widened in recognition.

"When you died, you activated this. Your wish was to die in a beautiful girl's arms, so as your life expired, I was summoned and I brought you two back to life."

"That's right...I do remember saying that," he muttered, entranced by the paper.

"And as a result, Issei, Sekiro, you two have been reincarnated as devils under my name, Rias Gremory, daughter of the Marquis of Gremory, a high-ranking devil," the crimson-haired girl, announced, her wings fluttering open in a dominating fashion as she stood from the chair, the climax of this meeting finally pushing through. "With that being said…"

The group, forcing Sekiro and Issei to stand side-by-side, surrounded them with smiles on their face (save for Koneko). "Welcome to the group, you two!"

* * *

The street lights illuminated his path as he walked, the bag of logs swinging from his hand with each footstep. His steps echoed down the empty sidewalk.

Kuoh was silent tonight, he noticed. The usually loud whizzing of cars that would pass by every few seconds or minutes were absent tonight. All that was left was a dark empty street. Even the citizens of Kuoh seemed to have figured to retire tonight, as some of the lights that were present in the many buildings were flickering off.

As he continued to walk, he allowed his mind to wander. There was a lot to think about, especially over the past two days.

He had a lord again...or whatever a female equivalent to a lord was. And though it did fill him with some purpose in his life once again, deep down, he was...dare he say...afraid. Afraid of what could be again.

After all, Kuro was immortal. Seemingly unkillable, gifted with the immortality of the divine dragon. He truly thought that his lord had no weakness. Yet, there he was, laying grievously injured at the top of the tower, with blood gushing out of a wound caused by a blade.

So if his seemingly immortal lord could die, then what of Rias? He knew she was a devil, he knew she wasn't immortal, and he knew that if Kuro could die, then how much more of a possibility was death for her?

Being a devil meant weaknesses, and weakness meant death Issei showed him one such weakness that could render the whole peerage useless. What if someone who was targeting her exploited that weakness. Then what?

It was his duty to ensure her safety, but failure, especially this second time, terrified him to his core.

Maybe, just maybe he could relax a bit knowing that there was a group with him to ensure her safety, but he didn't know everyone else all too well.

Akeno, he figured, was incredibly close to Rias; far more so than anyone there, and if she was Rias's right hand man, then she would no doubt be able to protect her.

But the two others, Kiba and Koneko? He didn't know them, what their relationship was with Rias, their strengths and weaknesses. The only thing he did know was that they were there before him. But what if they had no qualms in abandoning her for their own gain?

His biggest concern, however, was Issei. They were going to have to work on his confidence, and on his ability. Granted, he looked like the type to always be the one to be picked on or shunned (unsurprisingly), but that would explain his inability to focus correctly or to take things seriously. That would have to change soon. There were bigger things at stake now, but he believed that the pervert would grow out of it, or at least mature a little.

Thinking back to the boy now, he didn't know why he did it. Why he gave him one of his prayer necklaces, that is. He couldn't help but feel compassionate towards the boy.

He didn't know the boy, but he trusted him the most. He could see in his eyes that he was innocent. Ignorant. He was a simple boy who lived a simple life with a...big, yet harmless dream. Above all though, he was instated the same time that he was. He was new to this, as was he.

A scoff escaped his lips. He could sense it now; his father's disapproving shake of his head, before saying something like, "A shinobi...like you...showing the likes of compassion? Unthinkable. Such a miserable display."

Footsteps brought his attention back to the world. Those weren't his. He wasn't alone anymore.

"My, my…," came a gruff voice, and a man wearing a trench coat and a fedora stood a distance away from the thinking Wolf. "A stray? Or so it seems."

Sekiro tensed, his eyes narrowing as he tightly gripped his bag of logs. "Who are you?"

The man let out a haughty laugh. "Who do you think you are, asking for my name, devil scum? Though if you must know…"

Sekiro's eyes widened, as brilliant light illuminated the night sky and a blue spear of light appeared in the man's hand.

"I am Dohnaseek. And I will kill you."

With a shout, he lunged forward quickly, spear raised as he went in to slash the shinobi devil.

Sekiro immediately stepped to the side, reeling his arm back before swinging the bag of logs upwards. The bag ripped open as it smashed into the man's face, breaking free of its plastic confines before flying into the air.

The man stumbled backwards at the impact as blood sprayed freely from his busted nose and lip. He gripped hos broken face in reflex, as he stared back at the boy.

"Agh! You bastard!" Came the enraged man's muffled shout, as he lunged and swung low, a glint appearing at the edge of his spear, hoping to knock the agile boy off of his feet.

Alarm bells rang in Sekiro's head as instincts took over, causing the boy to jump up into the air to avoid the low swipe. And in a split second, he planted his feet onto the man's shoulders and kicked off, using the man's face as a platform, more blood spraying out in the process.

Once again, the man stumbled back, agitation in his eyes, as he pulled his spear back, and lunged towards the boy.

A seeming parallel to his last fight. Sekiro knew what was coming next. And when the spearhead was within reach, he reacted, like a wolf snapping its jaws, stomping on the head of the spear with a small boom. A perfect Mikiri Counter. Though something felt...different.

The man stared Sekiro in the eye and lowered his hand, showing a disgustingly bloody maniacal grin. The sound of sizzling reached his ears and flesh burning filled his nose. Sekiro's eyes widened fractionally, as he looked down at the foot on the spear. There was smoke rising from his foot.

The man took this opportunity to lift the spear, causing Sekiro to tumble onto the ground, and before he got a chance to recover, the man stabbed it straight through his stomach.

Sekiro grit his teeth in pain, as the spear excruciatingly burned a hole through his stomach.

"Haha! So you were the one that shocked little Raynare. She told me all about you, and that little move you did, but it looks like that stupid move didn't work this time," The man cried in mock derision, the manic smile never leaving his face.

He forcefully unpinned the spear from his body, causing Sekiro to jerk upward slightly, and raised the bloody weapon above Sekiro's head.

"Goodbye, devil!"

But before the man could finish his shinobi execution, a blast of crimson collided with the lightspear, followed by a burst of lightning.

Sekiro felt firm hands grab his side, and he was lifted into the air with ease.

"Got him, Buchou," Koneko's familiar monotonous voice spoke.

* * *

A wave of relief washed over Rias upon hearing Koneko's words. 'Thank goodness.'

"Good," Rias responded, as Koneko quickly regrouped with Rias and Akeno.

With their objective complete, Rias and Akeno stared focusedly at the man who surprisingly escaped the combo, barely unscathed. His fedora and coat was slightly singed along its edges as he stared down the group of devils.

'It looked like Sekiro already did a number on him,' Rias thought, as she stared at the numerous cuts and ruptures on his face that had splinters of wood. She eyed the multiple logs on the ground. 'Logs…?'

"That crimson hair...it's a pleasure being in the esteemed presence of a Gremory," the man smirked, bringing her attention back to him.

"Hello fallen angel-san. You realize that you are operating in Gremory territory, do you not?" Rias asked, standing protectively over the retrieved boy and part of her peerage.

"My deepest apologies, Gremory-san. You see, I saw a lone devil here and thought it was a stray," Dohnaseek unapologetically replied, clearing away some of the blood that dribbled down his chin with his glove. "Though you would do well to keep a leash on your pets, else they may be mistaken as a stray, like that one there."

The implications of Sekiro angered her greatly. How dare he talk down on her peerage member like that? It only proved to her that many fallen angels were hell bent on making the lives of others much harder.

She wasn't going to lash out at him and stoop to their level. Her composure won over and she spoke coldly and confidently. "And it would do you well to remember that if I see you again, you won't be leaving alive next time."

"I'll do well to remember that well then, Gremory-sama," Dohnaseek laughed haughtily before unfurling his feathery wings, before taking to the skies, leaving the group alone.

After the threat disappeared, she immediately turned, concern etched onto her face as she rushed to the injured boy who was held up by her tiny rook.

"Is he still awake?" She asked, taking him off Koneko, and looping his right arm around her shoulders.

"Thank...you," Sekiro struggled to get out, as blood gushed steadily down his stomach.

"Of course. Anything for my cute little servants. Let's get you healed up," she replied softly, before turning to Akeno and Koneko. "Thank you for accompanying me. You're all relieved, I'll see you all tomorrow."

"Of course, Buchou/Yes, Buchou," Akeno and Koneko replied, as Akeno smiled behind her hand, while Koneko merely nodded, before a glowing red circle encompassed the two. A flash of red light brightened the area and when it cleared, they were gone.

Her attention redirected itself back to the injured boy. "Our turn now. Do you think you can tell me where you live? I doubt you'd want to always wake up in the club room every time you get injured."

Sekiro struggled to keep his eyes open now. He'd lost too much blood. But he managed to mutter it, softly and weakly, before finally succumbing to the sweet temptations of unconsciousness.

Rias hurriedly summoned her family sigil, the same bright red circle that encompassed Akeno and Koneko encompassed her and the unconscious boy. She needed to heal him fast. They'd stalled long enough already, though she was quite honestly surprised that he'd managed to stay awake for so long already. With that much blood lost, she was sure that, and she shivered at the thought, if she was the one to take an injury like that, she would've dropped a long time ago. Especially with a light weapon involved.

Finally, she felt the tug of the circle, signifying that they were about to teleport, and a flash of bright red light soon followed, evacuating the two devils.

* * *

Immediately, Rias was met with the smell of wood and a dark and lonely interior. So this was Sekiro's room? It was barren, void of any furniture or picture. There wasn't even a clock on the wall! She eyed the lonely mat in the center of the room, and she frowned. Was this his living conditions?

She shook her head. She could contemplate his living space later. There was something more important that she needed to do.

And with that, she began her process of healing, stripping each and every article of clothing that was on them. She carefully avoided Sekiro's left arm as she removed his clothes, and she placed him gently onto his mat.

Naked, she laid down next to him. The hard floor was uncomfortable against her back, but there wasn't much she could do. So she began to heal him. Snuggling close, she placed her head onto his shoulder, and hugged him gently. This was much more comfortable.

**Edit: Now that this is done, I can go resume Chapter 3 for this, and then there's Chapter 2 for Shinto, and then there's Chapter whatever for Underworld Historians. I hope I did y'all justice for these revisions, and if any other problems do come up in Chapter 3 and beyond, please let me know. So see y'all in about four years.**


	3. Not a Chapter (Hopefully the only one)

**Hello, so this isn't a chapter, butt an A/N just so that those who do get the notifications from this story can see this A/N. So based on many criticisms, I have made major revisions to Chapters 1 and 2 in regards to story, character development, and background information. I appreciate all of the support I've gained thus far with the original first two chapters, and I appreciate all of the criticisms I've received. I only hope that my revisions have honored your criticisms and I hope it does justice to those who were already okay with the first two chapters.**

**Now, just because I revised it doesn't mean I just changed a few sentences and added a few things. Nooooooo. I added completely new scenarios, changed up the dialogue, changed up the narrative perspective, etc. And while you guys are waiting on Chapter 3, I've uploaded another story that's been on my mind for a minute while revising 1 and 2, so feel free to check that out too. It's called A Shinto Priestess and Her Shinobi.**

**That about concludes this A/N. See y'all in four years. :]**


End file.
